"He has improved a lot, has put his personality into the games, which was sometimes a bit of a problem for him.

"He has authority, he is decisive going forward, and in games where we were struggling a bit like Swansea in the cup he turned up and was the one who brought the pressure on the opponent.

"Even at Munich when he had been out for six weeks he came straight back in and had a very decent game. For me he has moved into the top three left backs in the country."

Despite Gibbs' impressive displays, his injury problems meant Wenger was forced to add Nacho Monreal to his squad in January to give himself more than one option. In the long term, the Arsenal boss believes competition will help both players improve.

He added: “He is ready for the fight. I did it because I believe you never know with only one left-back.

“You need two. And as well because both can play one in front of the other, so there’s an opportunity to use them both in some games.”